Midnight walked into the tent, stopping in front of Jack and glaring down at him, reacting just as he feared she would. He sighed, explaining the situation to her as quickly as he could. When he finished, she only looked more upset, staring at him like he was crazy as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Have you lost your damn mind? You should have granted her a swift death, or told her to flee. Instead, you snuck her into one of our main camps, and you were lucky no one noticed that ridiculously powerful scent of her blood. If anyone had seen her, you would have been killed for treason, and that can still happen. Don't be an idiot; take her to the general and be rid of her. If she is really the princess, then she will be kept alive as a hostage."
Jack said nothing, glaring right back at her, the tension between them so thick it could be cut with a knife. Drake suddenly stood up, frowning as he looked down at the smaller vampett with disappointment in his eyes.
"Midnight, that is cold, even for you. She has done nothing wrong, and is completely innocent. Who knows what will happen to her if we give her to the general? She has done nothing to deserve any of this."
"That doesn't matter!" Midnight retorted, spinning around to face him, a fire in her eyes and wearing a fierce expression. "If you have not noticed by now, we are at war with the elves, and she is their princess! We are soldiers, not heroes in some book for children. What are you going to do, steal her away to safety? Have you thought about the consequences for this at all?"
"Lower your voice, before someone hears you." Jack said, surprisingly calm, given the situation he was in. He heard her sigh loudly, turning back around to him and rubbing her forehead. He continued before she could go off again, his voice low and serious.
"What you say makes sense, and that is what I have a problem with. We have been doing this for too long, forced to join a war against our will. Have we really gotten so cold, so heartless, that we would even consider taking the princess prisoner, to be used as a hostage against her mother, and most likely beaten or worse?"
He sighed, seeing hesitation flash through Midnight's eyes and deciding to keep going.
"We are not saints by any means; I have killed more vampires and elves than I can count, and in the recent years, I stopped feeling anything when I did. As you said, we are soldiers, and it is something that was drilled into our heads when we were young and stupid. But the elves have done nothing to us; they have only been defending themselves the entire time from a war the vampires started."
He stood up, grabbing his helmet and sliding it over his head. He peered at them from behind his visor, red eyes appearing to glow in the darkness.
"Elaine has done nothing wrong; it was vampires that wronged her, the elf nearly raped and killed. Am I supposed to not care simply because she is an elf? That doesn't sit right with me, and the fact that this way of thinking is normal to vampires is fucked up. I did not go through the trouble to save her and bring her here to just hand her over and pretend it is not my problem. Now, time to decide; will you help us, as our best friend, or will you leave and rat us out to the general?"
He ended his little speech, taking a breath and waiting to hear her answer. Midnight said nothing at first, chewing her lip as she held his gaze, her sharp mind going over everything he had said. After a tense and awkward minute she threw her hands up, mumbling under her breath as she walked over and sat on the bed, Elaine eyeing her like one would look at a wild animal that may attack at any moment.
"You say that like I have any choice. You two are the only friends I have, and not only did we grow up together, but we have served together this entire time. I do not want to stay here, wondering if you are even alive, and even risking the chance that I would be expected to attack and try to kill you on sight. Besides, you have a point."
Jack nodded, relief washing over him at her words; he might not show it well, but he cared deeply for these two, and felt the same way she did. Midnight then turned to Elaine, her gaze still sharp and cold.
"Elf, why didn't your mother send you south? That makes much more sense than..."
She stopped as the sound of crying hit their ears, all three of them slowly turning to see Elaine with tears streaming down her face, her lower lip shaking. The vampires, all three of them grown adults, gaped and froze as the elf tried to speak.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry. I n-n-never wanted any of t-t-this to happen. Y-you don't have t-to worry about me; just l-l-leave me in the f-forest, and I will f-find my way back."
She went back to crying, Midnight reaching out and awkwardly patting her back while shooting them a look.
"I'm not good at things like this; one of you make her feel better, and quick."
Jack looked at the elf, not being any better with this than Midnight was.
"Quit crying; we are not going to leave you to fend yourself."
This did not appear to help, Midnight shooting him a dirty look as she continued to rub the elf's back until she calmed down, eyes red and puffy as she wiped her tears away; it had slipped his mind that the elf was scared and in the middle of a camp full of vampires that would not hesitate to kill her. She had listened to them arguing about what to do with her, and the weight of their words did not escape her notice. He was amazed that she was worrying about them in her situation, and this only confirmed that he had made the right choice.
"If she does not know why her mother sent her north instead of south, then we will simply have to ask the queen herself."
They both looked at him, Drake with confusion in his eyes and Midnight nodding in agreement. Elaine looked up, watching as he grabbed his black cloak off of the bed and threw it over his shoulders, clasping it and looking at his best friends, who were willing to risk their lives with him. He was glad they were here with him, and felt much less hopeless about the situation now.
"Midnight, see if you have some clothes for Elaine to wear; her clothes were torn pretty badly, and I did not have much to offer her myself. Jake, go and gather supplies; we do not have much time before the sun rises, and we need to be ready to leave once it does. Once the sun rises, we need to cover as much ground as we can, as well as look out for any scouts and avoid them. It should be obvious, but grab anything you do not want to leave behind; I do not think we will be coming back."
They nodded, getting up and heading out without another word. Jack grabbed his travel sack, filling with anything he thought he might need, pausing when Elaine suddenly spoke.
"During the day? I t-thought vampires turned to ash when hit by the sun."
He shook his head, continuing to pack as he responded.
"No, that is just a myth. The sun does weaken us, and direct contact with its light can start burning our skin in minutes. We have no protection from it, lacking something the other races have, and direct exposure will burn our skin away, our blood even boiling if we do not protect ourselves. As long as we cover our skin completely, we should not die, but it is still stressful on our bodies."
Elaine looked stunned by his words, looking at him differently.
"That...somehow sounds worse."
He got all of his things, frowning at the condition of his armor. He reached under his bed, pulling out a box and opening it. Elaine peaked over at him, seeing that the box contained multiple fat coin purses. He grabbed a couple, tying them to his sword belt and feeling their weight slightly tug it down; you never know when you would need some coin.
He felt regret at having to leave the rest of the coin, pushing the box back and standing up. He heard Midnight return, having grabbed her things as well as some clothes for Elaine to try. He saw her bow on her back, her main weapon of choice, along with a quiver of arrows hanging from her belt. He got up and left, knowing that the elf was not going to get changed in his presence. He waited outside the tent, trying his best to not look suspicious; most of the soldiers had already retreated inside their tents, and only the sentries and a few soldiers remained outside, making the large camp feel empty.
Drake returned, holding a few travel bags and some water skins, although they were filled with blood instead of water. Jack asked if they were done, the two vampires heading back inside when she said yes.
Elaine was now wearing thick leather pants, a simple tunic, and a leather vest over the tunic to offer some protection, though not much. Midnight threw Jack's spare cloak over the elf's shoulders, clasping it and stepping back to admire the results.
"I had to cut them a bit, as she is much shorter than I am. I am also grateful that I still had that vest from years ago, as the shirt was too baggy on her due to the difference in chest size. As long as she does not talk too much and keeps her hood up, she should be able to simply walk out of the camp."
Jack nodded, glad that the clothes fit at all, and turned to give Drake a look before he could make a joke about the difference between their chests; he knew his friend well enough, and now was not the time. Drake smirked at his gaze and shrugged, setting the largest bag down and pulling stuff out of it.
Jack was fine, as he was covered in armor from head to toe, but the other two had to cover up any skin to protect themselves from the sun. Drake, never being one for armor, simply wore a long sleeve tunic, pulling on long leather gloves. Midnight preferred lighter armor, having a thick leather vest over her long sleeved tunic with leather grieves, boots, and wrist guards. Elaine watched them prepare, looking confused when Drake pulled out three masks and handed one to everyone but Jack.
The masks were a plain, white color, bearing no marks and only having openings in the eyes to see through. The other vampires put theirs on, being used to wearing them, while Elaine looked hers over, frowning at how simple it was before placing it over her face as well. They all pulled their hoods over their heads, offering as much protection as they could, before taking a deep breath and heading out of the tent.
The sun was just beginning to rise in the sky, the light slowly battling the darkness of the night to reach them. Jack looked around, glad to see that the camp was nearly deserted, his heart slightly beating faster as they simply began to walk towards the edge of the camp. He felt himself sweat, anxious that something might happen and trying his best to stay calm and collected.
As they nearly reached the edge of the camp, Jack beginning to feel silly for worrying so much, a voice called his name, causing all of them to freeze. He slowly turned his head, seeing three vampires making their way towards the group, wearing armor similar to his with matching helmets in the shape of a skull. His heart picked up speed, nearly beating out of his chest, a cold sweat dripping down his face; out of all the times for the soldiers he had trained to want to speak with him, it just had to be now.